Media Contacts:

Jenine Anderson│Public Relations Manager
Jenine.Anderson@primetherapeutics.com

Suzi Baugh│850-545-4247
Suzi@sachsmedia.com

Going beyond the first fill: Prime Therapeutics, NCODA collaboration enables improved patient outcomes through new oncology pharmacy accreditation

Accredited medically integrated pharmacies may become eligible to participate in Prime’s IntegratedRx™ – Oncology network

EAGAN, Minn. and CAZENOVIA, NY– Oct. 19, 2021 – Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) serving more than 33 million members, will prefer for its IntegratedRx™  – Oncology program the new specialized accreditation from NCODA, the leading nonprofit association for the patient-centered medically integrated oncology community. This first-in-market accreditation – which aligns with Prime’s essential accreditation criteria – is a component of required credentialing for IntegratedRx – Oncology.

IntegratedRx – Oncology streamlines the treatment pathway for members and providers through its best-in-care integrated dispensing model. With IntegratedRx, members can receive their medicine through the oncology clinic’s integrated pharmacy, where the provider and pharmacist are part of the same team, allowing for direct lines of communication. This end-to-end coordination across the treatment pathway helps improve adherence, shortens time to dispense, and creates a better patient outcome and provider experience from the first fill to the last fill.

NCODA recently announced its new Center of Excellence (CoE) Medically Integrated Pharmacy (MIP) Accreditation Program. The program, based on compliance with the ASCO/NCODA Patient-Centered Standards for Medically Integrated Dispensing, focuses on enhanced patient care and quality of services.  NCODA is committed to empowering medically integrated pharmacies to deliver the highest level of performance that brings sustainability and value for all stakeholders. This program achieves the quadruple aim goals of improved clinician experience, better outcomes, lower costs, and improved patient experience. The key areas of focus include medication adherence, patient education and safety, cost avoidance and waste reduction, continuous quality improvement, financial assistance and patient satisfaction.

“Current accreditation standards don’t take into account the advantages of integrated pharmacy dispensing, said Joseph Leach, M.D., chief medical officer for Prime and a practicing oncologist. “Prime prefers NCODA’s MIP accreditation as it meets our quality requirements while reducing the burden associated with some broad accreditations, especially for oncology-specific pharmacies. It’s a perfect fit for the IntegratedRx dispensing model.”

Elizabeth Bell, director of medically integrated pharmacy accreditation for NCODA, said, “NCODA sees the IntegratedRx – Oncology program as a groundbreaking initiative. Allowing credentialed and accredited medically integrated oncology pharmacies to go beyond the first fill provides better patient outcomes and lower cost to the patient, practice, health plan and employer. Our patient-centered accreditation program was designed specifically for medically integrated oncology pharmacies and aligns perfectly with the IntegratedRx – Oncology program.”

Leach and Bell will introduce the accreditation to the medically integrated oncology community Oct. 22 at the NCODA Fall Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz.

About Prime Therapeutics

Prime Therapeutics LLC (Prime) helps people get the medicine they need to feel better and live well. Prime provides total medicine management solutions for health plans, employers, and government programs including Medicare and Medicaid. The company processes claims and offers clinical services for people with complex medical conditions. Prime serves more than 33 million people. It is collectively owned by 19 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans. For more information visit www.primetherapeutics.com or follow @Prime_PBM on Twitter.

About NCODA

NCODA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. Our Mission is to empower the medically integrated oncology team to deliver positive, patient-centered outcomes by providing leadership, expertise, quality standards and best practices. For more information about NCODA’s Executive Council and general updates, visit www.ncoda.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:
October 18, 2021

Suzi Baugh
Suzi@sachsmedia.com
850-545-4247

A Win For Cancer Patients: First-of-Its-Kind Collaboration Between National Oncology Pharmacy Nonprofit and PBM

NCODA’s medically integrated pharmacy accreditation creates gold standard for oncology practices dispensing medication to patients, from first to last fill

CAZENOVIA, NY – NCODA, an organization dedicated to providing oncology     patient-centered care, today announced a groundbreaking new partnership that opens the door for streamlined delivery of oncology treatments and improved patient care. The collaboration between NCODA, the leading nonprofit association for patient-centered medically integrated oncology practices, and Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) serving more than 33 million members, represents a revolutionary shift in how cancer patients can receive their life-sustaining medications.

“This is a game changer. The result of this collaboration will without question enhance patient experience, improve health outcomes, and streamline the delivery of care for providers while reducing overall cost of care,” said Michael Reff, Founder and Executive Director of NCODA. “Empowering accredited pharmacies to work directly with patients and providers and go beyond the first fill will be transformative for patient care. We’re confident that Prime’s new IntegratedRx™ network participation requirements will revolutionize the future of oncology pharmacy.”

NCODA acted in 2014 to develop an effective model that enables oncology practices to go beyond the first fill. One of the tools used in this model is NCODA’s Cost Avoidance and Waste Tracker, a tool that has proven to enhance compliance, interventions, and the patient experience. Along with NCODA Quality Standards in place and the use of the CAWT tool, clear results were shown to payers at a local level showing that it makes more sense to keep and fill prescriptions at the individual practice. This innovative model gained attention, enabling other medically integrated oncology practices across the country to follow suit.

Today NCODA is announcing the first-ever collaboration with a PBM so the patient-centered model can be provided on a much larger scale. Through the collaboration, Prime will prefer NCODA’s recently announced Center of Excellence (CoE) Medically Integrated Pharmacy (MIP) Accreditation Program as a requisite for its IntegratedRx credentialing program.

The CoE MIP Accreditation Program is based on compliance with the American Society of Clinical Oncology/NCODA Patient-Centered Standards for Medically Integrated Dispensing. Key focus areas of the program include medication adherence, patient education and safety, cost avoidance and waste reduction, continuous quality improvement, financial assistance, and patient satisfaction.

“This program is a win-win-win for everyone,” said Jim Schwartz, RPh, NCODA President. “Allowing credentialed and accredited medically integrated oncology pharmacies to consistently fill medications for their patients will provide better patient outcomes and lower costs for the patient, practice, health plan, and employer. The MIP Accreditation Program is an unprecedented initiative that will change the way oncology patients receive their medication.”

Full details of the partnership and accreditation program will be shared at the NCODA Fall Summit in Scottsdale, AZ, from October 20-22.

For more information or to enroll in the program, visit ncoda.org/accreditation.

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About NCODA

NCODA, the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association, is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering medically integrated oncology practices to deliver positive, patient-centered outcomes by providing leadership, expertise, quality standards, and best practices. For more information about NCODA, its Executive Council, and general updates, visit www.ncoda.org or follow @NCODAorg on Twitter.